


I Never Thought

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Bartender!Harry, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Meet-Cute, Past Louis Tomlinson/OMC - Freeform, Smut, Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 07:55:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7566193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“My boyfriend cheated on me,” Louis blurted. He didn’t know what he was doing or thinking, all he knew was that he was upset. And he felt oddly compelled to tell this man everything he possibly could.</p>
<p>“Oh. Wow, mate, that sucks. Sorry. If it helps you feel any better I think that little shit is obviously an idiot, if he’s stupid enough to cheat on you.”</p>
<p>(Or Louis finds himself single and meets a very attractive bartender in the process of mending his broken heart)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Never Thought

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunshineamaryllis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineamaryllis/gifts).



> For the prompt: "A stops at the pub near their house to pick up some food on the way home (they make the best fries in the neighbourhood) when A receives a phone call – and some terrible news. A starts crying and B, the bartender, asks A what’s wrong. As A opens up to them, B gives A a drink on the house, and helps talk them through it."

Louis wasn’t expecting to be at Marty’s Pub at only 3 P.M. on a Monday. If you would have asked him a few hours ago he would have said cuddling with Aidan. Obviously, that was not the case.

After finding Aidan in bed with someone who was definitely not Louis, he decided to come down to the pub for a beer and meal. After all, what was the point of pitying himself if not to splurge on a nice quarter pound steak and fries?

A young bartender was chatting with an older man with dark, weathered skin and a large mustache. Louis couldn’t help but watch the pair. It was obvious they knew each other, the bartender listening and laughing with the older man as he finished his whiskey. Soon the older man left, leaving just Louis and the bartender in this part of the pub. Louis hadn’t noticed that almost twenty minutes had passed since he ordered, busy watching the bartender. The man waked over to Louis as soon as he cleared the table with a dishcloth.

“Hey, sorry that took so long. Lost track of time. You wanted a steak and fries, yeah? I’ll get that in just a second,” the man said to Louis, giving him a small smile. He made his way into the back for a moment and came back with a nice plate of juicy steak and their specialty garlic fries. He set it down in front of Louis along with a napkin, knife, and fork. Louis had already started to cut his steak when the bartender set down a large mug of beer in front on him.

“I have to say, I don’t see a lot of twenty-somethings come here this time of day,” the bartender said, smiling at Louis. Louis looked up and wished he was in the mood to smile. He had kept his head down for the most part, knowing it was obvious he had been crying with his puffy red eyes. Louis just nodded his head, and he knew the bartender wasn’t going to let this one go. The bartender placed his hands on the table and got closer to Louis’s height. “Are you alright? If you want me to call someone or something--”

“No, no. I’m fine. It’s just – stupid. I shouldn’t even be here,” Louis replied. Fuck. Why did he think going in public right now was a good idea? He could already feel another wave of tears come, but he was determined not to cry in front of this stranger, even if he seemed kind and was the only one there.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here anyway. What’s your name?”

“Umm, Louis.”

“Nice to meet you Louis. I have to admit these don’t seem like the best circumstances to be meeting under, but nice nonetheless.”

“My boyfriend cheated on me,” Louis blurted. He didn’t know what he was doing or thinking, all he knew was that he was upset. And he felt oddly compelled to tell this man everything he possibly could.

“Oh. Wow, mate, that sucks. Sorry. If it helps you feel any better I think that little shit is obviously an idiot, if he’s stupid enough to cheat on you.”

“Thanks. I just wish it wasn’t our anniversary. God, I’m telling you my whole life story,” Louis lamented.

“That’s one of the best things about this job though. People are willing to talk to me and tell me their secrets. Not like there’s anyone else around either,” the bartender said, mentioning the completely empty restaurant except for a teenager wiping down tables in the back in their own little world. “I like listening to people. Especially when they look like you.”

Louis blushed. Even though he was upset, he could admit the man’s looks were a small blessing. His curly hair was up in a bun with a few locks of hair falling in front of his eyes. His chest was broad and his hands were weirdly attractive. Louis knew that he himself didn’t look too bad either. He had broken up less than an hour ago, but he felt comfortable in the man’s presence despite it.

Louis had paused for too long. “Oh, sorry. That was inconsiderate of me,” the man explained, taking Louis’s lack of words as a bad thing.

“No, it’s alright. Things are just a mess now. It feels weird to be single again. God, what the hell am I going to do about the flat?” Louis said. He spent the next thirty minutes talking to the bartender, who he soon learned was named Harry, about his life. He trusted Harry for some reason. As soon as he finished his first beer Harry got him another, this time on the house. Louis just kept talking. Only a few people came in during the time, and only going to the restaurant section instead of the bar. It was three hours later when Louis’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He got it out to find a message from his mother telling him to call her back, she was getting worried. Fuck.

It was rare for him to go a long period leaving any message unanswered, especially his mum. She had left a voicemail at the time when he was driving to the pub, and it was four hours later when she texted him again.

He dialed his mum’s number and she picked up immediately. “Oh, god, you’re alright! I was starting to get worried! I was thinking you could come down this weekend since the twins are--”

“Me and Aidan broke up, mum,” he said, knowing that he had to get it out of the way. His weekend plans could be put off for now. There was a pause on the other end of the line.

“Oh, Lou…. Where are you? What happened? If you want me to come down I think I can--” she rambled.

“No, mum, it’s fine. I just need to sort some things out. I’m alright, sorry I didn’t call you back. We’ll talk about plans for this weekend later, alright? ‘ave to go. Love you, talk to you soon,” Louis said quickly, letting his mother say a quick “love you, goodbye!” before hanging up the phone. He saw another text message. This day was turning out to be just fantastic.

_From: Niall: hey, everything ok? Me and pezza went by the flat to drop off some treats before your love-making fest began but no one answered the door just wanted to make sure everything’s alright mate_

_To: Niall: everything’s fine, found aidan in bed w/ someone else. Obv we broke up, im at marty’s pub. Can I crash at urs tonight?_

Niall’s reply came only a minute later

_From: Niall: That sucks. But u can stay over as long as u need, im sure perrie is fine with it. Do u need me 2 pik u up?_

Louis replied yes, even though he already felt guilty for taking up space in his friend’s flat. Niall and Perrie pulled up in a cab a few minutes later. It was close to dinner time now, and Harry was busy with the new crowd of people coming in. Harry waved goodbye to Louis as he saw him leaving the pub, and Louis couldn’t help but think about him on the drive back to Niall’s. And it wasn’t just because he had a nice ass.

Niall put Louis to bed the second they got to his flat, even though it was only 6 on a Monday. He got into Louis’s email and typed out a quick letter explaining that Louis wouldn’t be there the next day because he wasn’t feeling well. Louis slept through the whole night.

…

Niall wasn’t there when Louis woke up. He had left a note explaining that he had gone to work but Louis was taking a sick day courtesy of Niall, and Perrie had a last minute request from a client that she was attending to.

Louis was incredibly hungry, but Niall didn’t have anything to eat since they had recently had a movie night with their friends and ate what was left of their junk food. All Louis wanted was something fatty enough he could feel it in his arteries. So, he stole some fresh clothes from the drawer in Niall’s bedroom where he kept an extra pair of clothes just in case (‘just in case’ usually ended up being every other week). He left the flat and shut the door behind him, only to see a certain someone fumbling with their keys one door down.

“Harry?” Louis asked, surprised. Why the hell was he here? He surely wasn’t stalking him?

Harry looked up and smiled. “Hey, Louis? I didn’t get to say goodbye last night, I’m glad you made it home safely.”

“Yeah. Of course. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I live here. I’ve never seen you around before.”

Louis felt incredibly stupid. Was he so vain as to think some hot bartender he met would stalk him? He was definitely blaming this one on his headache and drowsiness.

Louis paused for too long before talking. “My friend, Niall, he lives here. I crashed here last night.”

“You’re friends with Niall?”

“Yeah. I thought I had met all his friends.”

“Well, I’m usually busy when he’s having parties. How are you?”

“Good, I guess. Well, surviving,” Harry’s phone buzzed in his pocket and Harry took it out to look at his message. He pouted and put it away.

“Sorry, duty calls. Nice to know you got home though. See you later?” Harry asked, smiling and turning away to go to the stairs.

“Umm, listen,” Louis said, before Harry could get to the stairway. What the fuck was he doing? “I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to go out to lunch sometime? On me, since you spent more than enough on me last night. But, as friends, of course.”

Harry was the one speechless this time. “Alright. I have Sunday off, would you want to meet up here?”

“Sounds good.” Louis smiled.

…

Louis was surprisingly okay with his break up with Aidan and it may or may not have had to do with a certain bartender. Louis couldn’t help but think about Harry. He felt like they were weirdly connected, and he hoped Harry felt it too. Louis had been staying at Niall’s since his break up. He had snuck into the flat when he knew Aiden would be at work so he could get his belongings out without having to see that bastard’s face. His boxes were currently taking up the majority of Perrie’s room, but she insisted it was fine. Louis was already looking for another place to live and would hopefully be out by the end of the month.

Niall had given Harry’s number to Louis after he told Niall all about his encounter with him on the day of his break up. He and Harry had finalized the details of their platonic date. Which is why Louis was currently standing outside of Harry’s flat, wearing what Aiden likes to call his “seduction outfit.” This was just coincidence. After all, Louis had only broken up with his long term boyfriend a week ago. Would it be rude if he was already on the dating scene again? Not that Aiden was heartbroken. Either way, Harry probably had a boyfriend. Girlfriend? Exclusive partner?

Harry opened the door, wearing what Louis would _definitely_ classify as a “seduction outfit.” Once again, purely coincidence. Harry looked, to put it lightly, hot as hell. Louis definitely didn’t notice Harry’s cock in his jeans. Definitely.

“Hey,” Harry said, coming out of his flat and locking the door behind him.

“Uhh, hi,” Louis breathed.

“Where were you planning on taking us?”

“A little bistro a couple blocks from here, hope you don’t mind if we walk.”

“Of course,” Harry smiled. Louis was completely fucked.

Their lunch went quite well, if one were to ask Louis. Harry had talked about his family life, and Louis was endeared by how much Harry cared for his family. He learned that Harry had just graduated from culinary school, but he planned on keeping his job at Marty’s until he figured out something else he wanted to do (“Family planning, perhaps,” Harry blushed). Once the bill was paid for, Harry and Louis walked back to the building and Louis said goodbye to Harry for the day. He fought the urge to kiss his cheek or something worse.

“Oh! I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to come inside? I made chocolate cupcakes last night if you want one.” Louis was not going to refuse a free cupcake.

Louis nodded and walked in Harry’s flat. It was a bit… eccentric, to say the least. Harry wasn’t a bad decorator by any means, and his bright color palette made the flat seem much bigger than it was. He had many pictures of him and his family around, whether school pictures or during summer vacation with his mum and sister at the beach. Louis was disappointed to find he didn’t have any up from when had been at least 10 or younger. Harry led them into the kitchen and brought out a box of cupcakes. They looked professional, which Louis had expected, with blue icing artfully swirled onto them. The cupcakes alternated between several kinds of rainbow sprinkles. Harry took two out, handing one to Louis and setting the box down so they could both eat.

“We’ve barely talked about you this whole time,” Harry said as Louis peeled his cupcake wrapper down. “How have you been since your… since that night?”

“Surprisingly okay,” Louis sighed. Why did he trust Harry so completely already? “If I’m honest I kind of saw it coming. Is that bad? To know it’s coming to an end for months and not doing anything about it? Part of the reason we stayed together was because of convenience.”

“Oh. Well, even if it was rhetorical, I don’t think it’s bad. Sometimes people are compatible but not in a romantic way,” Harry said, giving Louis a comforting smile. “Not everything is going to work out, right?”

“Yeah,” Louis whispered, talking one last glance at Harry. He had a feeling things were going to work out between the two of them, but he tried not to think about it.

…

Their lunches became a regular thing. Three times a week Louis would stand outside Harry’s flat and they would walk down to a nearby restaurant, their favorite becoming a French bakery. Louis loved watching Harry in the bakery. Harry was quite critical of the food there, since he had lived in France for a few years as a teen and worked at a bakery while there. Harry would talk about how light and airy the pastries were, the tartness of the fillings, and had many stories about his customers that never failed to make Louis laugh. (When Louis repeated them to his friends they didn’t find them quite as funny as Louis did, and Louis supposed it was just because Harry was a good story teller).

Louis was never one to fall fast, but as the seasons changed and he saw Harry more he thought he was a little in love with him. His funny stories and the way his nose crinkled when he laughed. The way he listened when Louis told him a story about his siblings and watching him bake cookies while singing along to the _Grease_ soundtrack. When Harry had come over to help Louis unpack his stuff when he finally moved into his flat a few blocks away and they had pizza and shared the most embarrassing stories about themselves when they were still in grade school.

He would be a fool to not fall in love with Harry Styles.

Louis knew that Harry was gay, and he had even been on a couple of dates while they had been friends earlier on. However, it had been quite a while since Harry had been on a date and Louis was increasingly antsy about it. With every date Harry went on Louis would remind himself that he was certainly not Harry’s type. He and Harry had almost everything in common, and he had a love/hate relationship when they talked about the future families they would have. But Harry was extremely good at finding guys that wanted the exact opposite of that. Harry seemed okay with the dates, though. Louis had just expected Harry to want to try to find someone in the same mindset as him. The few times he had briefly seen Harry’s dates he didn’t get the vibe that they wanted to settle down.

He knew something had to change. Niall complained about how much Louis complained, and Louis knew he was too close to being caught staring into Harry’s eyes or at his arse. Louis didn’t want to tell Harry about his feelings in case of rejection, so he came up with the perfect plan: one night of seduction. Louis was convinced that if he had sex with Harry for just one night, Louis would be able to get over him and move on. He was actually hoping Harry was a terrible lay simply because it would be easier that way, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case.

Louis had everything set up for his idea. The table was set with the fancy pizza Louis had gotten along with wine. The movie was in the blu-ray player, ready to go. A bottle of lube and condoms were placed in the drawer on his bedside table, since he didn’t want Harry to think that Louis had planned this. Harry had just texted Louis that he was on his way, and Louis sat down on the couch and looked at his phone while waiting for Harry.

After a few minutes Harry rang the doorbell and Louis let him in. Harry was always beautiful in Louis’s eyes, but he found it extra cute when he came in from work with his work clothes still on. Harry had his button up shirt on with only a few buttons done instead of his usual several, since it would be fairly inappropriate to have his whole chest out at work. Not that Louis thought people would mind. It reminded Louis of when they first met, when Aidan had just left his life, and Louis remembered how different things were within a short period of time.

Harry struggled to get his shoes off and throw them by the door, and set down his black work apron on the arm of the couch.

“Is there a special occasion?” Harry asked, smiling slyly at Louis. Louis shouldn’t read into it, Harry was flirtatious with everyone. At least, Louis assumed so. He had never actually seen Harry interact with too many people since it had been the two of them alone for the majority of their time together.

“No, just glad you have the next few days off. Is that not a special occasion?”

“Oh, definitely. Especially considering the horrid week I’ve had. Today a customer said his fries were under seasoned when he had specifically asked for no salt or anything on them. I mean, at least I don’t work in retail. Sophia has done nothing but complain about working on Christmas, which I completely understand, but at the same time--”

Louis couldn’t help it. He was just so overwhelmed with love because of the gorgeous boy in front of him. Harry’s hair was frizzy and he clearly hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before, but Louis thought it was endearing. Why the hell did he think it was endearing? He wanted to talk to Harry every single day of his life, wake up next to him and bring him breakfast in bed while listening to Harry’s awful acoustic music. Louis ignored that so far his plan was doing terribly, and instead broke Harry’s speech by crushing their lips together.

It was quite honestly a terrible kiss, yet it was everything Louis had wanted. After the initial shock, Harry was kissing him back just as fiercely. Kissing him back?

They broke apart. Harry and Louis stared at each other for a few good seconds, realizing what had just happened.

“Was that, umm, alright?” Louis asked. Harry just stared, finally nodding his head. Louis didn’t have any time to register before Harry’s lips were back on his own, this time at a much better angle. Harry slipped his hands around to the back of Louis’s waist and pulled them closer together. Louis was lost in the feeling of being enveloped in Harry’s arms when Harry reached further down to take Louis’s ass in his hands, squeezing hard and making Louis moan.

With the slight friction of Harry’s leg barely slipped in between Louis’s thighs, he could feel his cock stiffening in his jeans. Harry noticed too, apparently, because he took his right hand of the small of Louis’s back and used it to brush over the bulge in his jeans. Why had Louis thought this was a good idea?

“Louis,” Harry whispered, his breath ragged. He had never looked more beautiful, and they hadn’t even actually touched each other yet. His hair was a mess and there was a pink tint on his cheeks.

“You’re okay with this, yeah?” Louis asked. He would never forgive himself if Harry regretted this later.

Harry laughed. “Take your jeans off.” Louis wasn’t going to say no, but he had something else he wanted to do first. While he loved that Harry was confident in this, Louis wanted to make this about making him feel good. So Louis slipped his fingers over the short waiter’s apron around Harry’s waist, tugging away the knot and letting it slip to the floor. Louis quickly pulled down Harry’s jeans and pants. They pooled around Harry’s legs and Harry kicked them across the floor along with the apron. Harry was definitely okay with this, if his hard cock was anything to go by. Louis sank to his knees and put his right hand over Harry, tugging just enough to get him fully hard. He pushed his hand up to the base and squeezed. Harry’s head was thrown back against the wall and he was clearly fighting the urge to buck his hips, afraid of looking desperate perhaps. Louis lowered his mouth down onto Harry, closing his lips around just the head. He swirled his tongue around and sucked. Harry gasped and held onto the desk, gripping the edge while Louis kept his technique for a couple of minutes. Louis could feel Harry tensing, and Harry pulled Louis off him to bring him up for another kiss. He snaked his hand around to Louis’s bum and teased his rack (?), but brought his other hand around their two cocks. He ran his thumb over both of their heads, mixing their pre cum together and then jerking them off together harshly. Louis panted and shut his eyes as he came, only a few seconds after Harry. Louis leaned himself against Harry’s broad chest and Harry brought them over to sit down on the couch. He saw Harry disappear into the toilet to come back out with a damp towel. Harry gently wiped off both of their soft cocks and tummies while Louis lied still. Louis was so gone for this boy.

“Umm, there’s food on the table if you want some,” Louis said. He had originally planned on eating first and having fantastic sex later, but some things don’t work out. Harry smiled at Louis and pressed a kiss to his forehead before getting up to go to the kitchen. Harry entered with two plates of pizza and bottles of Coke.

Louis did not feel good about his plan. It had worked, much better than he would’ve thought, but he doubted his ability to get over Harry now. He didn’t even want to get over Harry. He wanted everything that Harry would give him.

“You’re over thinking,” Harry smiled, setting down the food and drinks on the table. His eyes were droopy and he looked like a strange smudged version of himself. Louis sat up on the couch more so Harry could have the other half and they tangled their legs together.

“’M not,” Louis insisted. Harry smiled and settled his head on his knees, his feet under Louis’s calves. “What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. What the hell I’m doing with my life,” Harry answered.

“You made it sound very put together this whole time, though.”

“Well, I did want to be an actor when I was younger,” Harry laughed. His smile turned into a small pout, and Louis wanted to kiss him and make everything better. But he had a feeling he was part of the problem. “I’m scared.”

There was silence.

“Of what?” Louis asked.

“Of this. Of you.” Louis heart stopped beating for a single moment. Harry wouldn’t look at him, opting to hide his face in between his legs. Harry was scared of ‘this’? Their relationship? Did Harry feel obligated to be in a relationship with him now that they had sex? No, that didn’t make any sense. Harry had plenty of one-offs with people and nothing had come out of it. “I don’t want to make the same mistake my parents did, Lou,” Harry whispered.

“What do you mean?” Harry didn’t answer. “Love, what’s going on right now? What are you worried about?” Even though Louis knew. Harry loved both his parents dearly, but they had both gone through several divorces after having Harry and his sister. Harry was a natural romantic. Although most people never go into marriage thinking divorce is in the future, he and Harry knew the statistics. And they were scary. He didn’t want to get married and then fall out of love. He didn’t know how to be sure he picked the right person.

But getting married to Harry, Louis thought, didn’t seem scary at all.

“Everyone I know has gotten divorced, Louis. Every single family member and friend who had been married more than ten years. No one seems to want the same thing as me at this age either. I want commitment and love and making s’mores at 2 in the morning because neither of us could go to sleep. But it became hard, you know? And people asked me on dates and I said yes, but I knew they only wanted me to put out. I know you’ve seen me go on so many dates, and you’re probably thinking I’m such a slut or something--”

“Love, I would never think you’re a slut. Or anything like that--”

“I didn’t sleep with them, though. God, I haven’t had sex for eight months. Well, until ten minutes ago. I just don’t know what to do anymore.” Harry sighed, his voice cracking. Louis could see he was on the edge of tears and wrapped his arms around Harry, his hands leaning on the arm of the couch so he could hold himself up. Louis didn’t know what else to say, how to comfort Harry more than he already was. He felt helpless. He wished he was like Harry in that moment, who always knew how to take care of people. Louis wished he knew how to make it all better.

But he didn’t, and they stayed silent the rest of the evening. Harry ended up falling asleep on the couch, and Louis thought about how stupid the two of them had to look. Harry was naked on his bottom half and his shirt was crumpled, and Louis was completely naked. Louis took a selfish moment to look at Harry’s form, breathing in and out peacefully with his arms sprawled out beneath him. While Harry looked gorgeous with clothes on, Louis doubted there was anything that would beat his naked form. Harry had helped with more physical labor at the pub since one worker was out on paternity leave, and his soft tummy and arms were replaced by muscle.

Louis didn’t think about how much he wanted to see Harry like this every day.

He pulled a blanket from the hallway closet and draped it over Harry, leaving his feet uncovered since Harry’s socks were off and Louis knew Harry hated when his feet got too hot when he was sleeping. Harry was snoring softly by the time Louis was done, padding into his own bedroom and lifting up the covers to crawl in. He fell asleep instantaneously.

As the next day was a Saturday, Louis had the day off but Harry would be working. When Louis woke up the sun spilled onto his sheets from the slivers in the curtains, and Louis could hear a bit of rustling in the other room. Harry.

Louis jumped out of bed and tugged a pair of fresh boxers and a t shirt from the drawer. He would never forgive himself if he missed Harry.

He walked into the living room to find Harry scrambling to find what Louis assumed was his phone, looking in between the cushions of the couch. Harry had put on a new set of clothes since he had accidentally left some at Louis’s flat a couple of weeks ago, thankfully. His hair was frazzled and Louis was going to cry with how much he wanted to kiss his soft pink lips.

Could he do that now? What had even happened last night? Clearly Harry had been in distress, but Harry was good about getting control of things in a short period of time. Louis was sure that whatever was bothering him would be solved by a good night’s rest and a silent car ride to think.

“Hazza? Everything alright?” Harry was not expecting for someone to suddenly be there, and he jumped in surprise. Louis winced.

“Oh, yeah. Umm, everything’s fine, just getting my stuff together. I’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes,” Harry said, not bothering to glance at Louis or say good morning.

Louis walked over to him and lightly touched his arm, and Harry spun around to see Louis. Louis didn’t think he had ever seen Harry like this, with dark circles under his eyes and his mouth curved downwards ever so slightly. It was so much different from how he looked when he was serious or concentrating, like looking at Louis was a strenuous chore.

Louis was about to speak again but Harry interrupted him. “Louis, just, don’t. I’m sorry, yeah? I’ll call you later.” Harry freed himself from Louis’s touch and pocketed his phone that he had found. He took the plastic bag with last night’s clothes with him and hurried out of the door, slamming it shut louder than usual, but Louis knew it wasn’t from anger.

Well, Louis’s plan had failed spectacularly. Louis had meant it to be something good for them, and instead he just made Harry upset. Louis didn’t understand what was going through Harry’s mind. Harry was confused, that much was clear, but Louis didn’t have the slightest idea on how to make it better. On how to get him to see that taking a chance on Louis would be worth the while. Why would Harry take a chance on everyone except for him? Louis thought that Harry had wanted a meaningful relationship with someone who was in it for the long haul. Louis didn’t know how to make it any clearer to Harry what his intentions were. Except maybe actually speaking to him and telling him that was what he wanted. Louis had thought Harry had seen their connection when they had talked about the future, both of them wanting big weddings with all their friends and family and later on a family of their own.

Louis felt that something was different with Harry. He had never met someone that he was so ready to share his whole world with. He wanted Harry to be a part of his life forever, even if they both met other people later on.

Now, Louis didn’t know if he would even be able to keep Harry as a friend.

Louis sighed. He was much too tired to think so deeply about his relationship with Harry. He walked into the kitchen and brought out the milk jug and a clean bowl. He set them on the table and went into the cabinet to get some rice cereal and an apple sitting in a bowl on the table. He didn’t think over breakfast. Louis popped in his earbuds and silently went along with the music while eating his breakfast.

Thankfully Louis didn’t have any work to do over the weekend, and he didn’t really want to go out either. He stayed in to do some laundry and some pleasure reading, and ended up calling his mum to talk for a while.

Soon it was evening, and eventually it was the end of the weekend. Louis had tried not to think about Harry, but he had thought Harry would’ve at least texted by then. He at least wanted to know that Harry was okay. But Harry would call eventually, right?

…

Harry did not call, at least for the next week. Louis didn’t know what to think anymore. He was getting desperate. His week had been hell because of his extra hours having to finish a big project, and recently he had Harry to complain to.

Louis couldn’t stop regretting that night. He didn’t think it would ruin his whole friendship with Harry, and his intentions weren’t to push him away. Fuck, why had he been so stupid?

He was done playing around. He had practically lost Harry already, but he wanted to get him back. He should at least try. He definitely needed to stop moping about his flat. Life was short and he needed to take a chance.

On impulse, Louis went to the door. He pulled on his shoes and his rain coat, knowing that it was pouring outside. This was not the time to go out to confess your love for someone, but so be it. Louis could only hope that Harry was at home. He left the building and walked down to Harry’s flat, cursing himself for choosing now to leave the house. His shoes and socks were soaked, but at least his top half was dry. He got into Harry’s building and ran up the stairs, practically pounding on the door to get Harry’s attention.

Harry opened the door looking quite adorable. He had put his hair up in a little bun and was wearing some sweatpants and a band t-shirt, all wrapped up in a blanket burrito.

Louis was so in love with this man.

“Louis?” Harry answered.

“Harry,” Louis replied. He was here but he had no idea what to say. Should he be blunt about it? Or spontaneously come up with some kind of speech? But he stayed silent.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked.

“Umm, well, I just wanted to see you, and wanted to know if you’re alright.”

“Oh. I’m fine. Listen, Louis, if this is about the other night I just want to say--”

“Harry, wait. I just want you to hear me out first, okay? God, I don’t know why I’m here. This is crazy. But, I just… I love you, yeah? And I want to be with you. As your boyfriend, or partner, or whatever, but I want that with you. I don’t know why you went on all those dates, but I’m not judging, truly. I want you to give us a chance though.”

“You’re out of your goddamn mind Louis Tomlinson,” Harry said, and with that Louis felt Harry’s lips press against his own. Harry pulled him inside while still kissing him, shutting the door closed and bringing his hands around Louis’s back to pull of his rain coat. It fell to the floor and Louis kicked off his shoes.

It felt so different from last time, and Louis couldn’t pinpoint why. Their first kiss had been urgent and awkward, like something that shouldn’t have happened. But this kiss felt like there was nothing more right than their lips together. Louis felt electricity coursing throughout his body as Harry kissed him passionately. Louis lost himself in Harry’s touch, wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist to press their bodies closer together.

And then he realized what they were actually doing. Fuck, he was kissing Harry. Was this a good thing? Louis didn’t know. He broke the kiss but left only a couple of inches between their mouths.

“What are you thinking?” Louis asked.

Harry smiled. “That I want the same thing you do. I want to give us a chance, and I’m sorry I was so scared before. I don’t ever want to have another week spent ignoring you,” Harry replied. No one said anything for a moment, Louis mulling over Harry’s words.

“Yeah?” Louis said.

Harry nodded and kissed him again, this time more urgent and needy. Harry was grinding his hips ever so slightly, providing just enough pressure for Louis to feel himself getting hard. Harry ran his hands down Louis’s chest and moved his mouth next to Louis’s neck. He playfully bit down and slowly went up towards Louis’s earlobe. “I want you to fuck me,” Harry said, smiling to himself. Louis was sure Harry could see how desperate Louis was getting, and he didn’t have to energy to try to hide it at the moment. “Will you do that?”

Louis nodded, trying to regain his composure. “Uh, yeah, yeah, that will be…. That’ll be fine,” Louis rambled. Harry laughed and pressed his lips to Louis’s collarbone, then lead him to Harry’s bedroom. They stood at the foot of Harry’s bed and continued to make out, when Louis finally began pulling up Harry’s shirt slightly and running his hands over his laurel tattoos. When Louis saw that Harry was definitely okay to where it was headed, he pulled Harry’s shirt off and threw it, and his own went quickly with it. Harry then unbuttoned both of their jeans and fumbled out of them while Louis took them of in one swift movement. Louis could see the outline of Harry’s cock through his tight briefs, but before he could do anything about it Harry was pushing him back on the bed. Louis sat down and lifted himself on his elbows, allowing him to see Harry smiling and coming to kiss him. Their lips met once again, this time slow and languid. They stayed that way for longer than they probably should have, running their hands over the others body and taking their time.

Eventually Louis ran his hands down over Harry’s bum and reached his inner thighs, rubbing his thumbs over the soft skin. Harry whined. Louis slowly trailed his hands up to lightly touch Harry’s cock through his briefs, reaching his left hand into his pants and rubbing him while taking his pants off. Harry closed his eyes and bit his lip at the contact. Once Harry was naked and Louis had managed to take off his own pants as well, Louis told Harry to lean up on the headboard. Louis slipped a pillow under the bottom of his back and reached a hand over to squeeze his bum. While Louis languidly rubbed both of their cocks together Harry got a bottle of lube of a condom from the bedside table and handed it to Louis.

Louis opened the bottle and poured some onto his first two fingers, ignoring their cocks to lightly rub two fingers over Harry’s hole. Harry squirmed but opened his legs further for Louis’s to have access. Louis didn’t waste any more time teasing Harry, slipping his index finger in and slowly circling around. Harry moaned and threw his head back, pushing back on Louis’s finger. Louis continued to work him open, scissoring him and moving up to two, three fingers.

“Fuck, Louis, I’m ready,” Harry nearly cried. Louis went into action. He opened the condom and rolled it on himself, and lubed himself up with a few tugs of his hand. Harry was quietly watching Louis, twitching his hips and biting his lip in anticipation. Louis finally lined himself up and pushed the tip in. He was sure it had to sting quite a bit, and Louis went slowly, but Harry told him to go ahead. Louis pushed all the way in and they stayed connected for a moment before Louis was giving little thrusts.

Harry felt heavenly, and Louis was possibly too much in love. He dragged it out as long as possible. Harry kept a hand on his own cock as Louis fucked into him, jerking himself off in time with Louis’s thrusts. Louis reveled in the slick heat of Harry’s body, and after he made sure Harry had come, he kissed Harry deeply and spilled into the condom.

Harry lied on the bed as Louis slipped out and quickly tied of the condom to throw it in the waste basket. He looked gorgeous, as always, with his hair falling beneath him and a light sheen of sweat covering his face and bare chest.

Louis crawled into bed alongside Harry, who was already asleep. Louis tucked himself into Harry’s side and didn’t think about what this would all mean in the morning, instead breathing in Harry’s warm aroma and fell asleep.

…

Louis wakes up to hearing Harry cooking in the kitchen. He had woken up this way multiple times, although it was after they had partied and Harry let Louis crash on his couch. Louis got out of bed and went through Harry’s drawers to find a spare t shirt and pair of briefs he could borrow. He put on the clothes and checked his phone to know that he could reply later to any of his messages. He went down the hallway and stood in the doorway before Harry could notice him. Louis watched Harry focus on the pan in front of him, taking the scrambled eggs on and off the burner to get them to the perfect consistency. A pot of water was boiling on the back burner, and Louis had just watched Harry set aside the eggs when the pot began to whistle and Harry took it off the heat.

Louis finally stepped into the kitchen when Harry was getting two teacups of out the cabinet and setting them down.

“Hey,” Louis said. He didn’t know what to say. He felt that “good morning” was a bit too formal, but anything else was just as awkward.

Harry smiled at him. “Hey, yourself,” he replied playfully.

Harry was happy, which was a good sign. After all, he had said he wanted to give their relationship a chance. That had to mean something.

Harry had finished two breakfast plates with scrambled eggs, bacon, and a slice of toast. He pushed one over to Louis. “I guess we should talk,” Harry said.

Louis sat down at the bar and started on his breakfast. “Look, about that--”

Louis didn’t say anything else before Harry interrupted him. “I know I was a bit of a dick the past few days. I’ve just never actually been in a real relationship before, and I like you a lot. Like, a lot a lot. And I don’t want to fuck this up because I said something stupid or messed up. I want this to work out, you know? Fuck, I shouldn’t be unloading all of this on you….”

“Harry, don’t say that. I want to know what you’re thinking, especially if we’re together. I don’t want you to ever ignore you insecurities or feelings. That being said, I like you a lot too. I want this to work out just as much as you do and we don’t have to do everything all at once. We can take it slow,” Louis tried to best ease Harry’s fears.

“Really? You’re okay with that?”

“Of course, love. I didn’t even think you would want to be together,” Louis admitted. Harry pouted and Louis stood up to give him a kiss by his cheek. “It’s going to be alright. We won’t do anything you don’t want to.”

Harry looked at Louis, studying his eyes. Louis felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter again, and Harry was soon kissing him. It was the kind of kiss that promised something. The kind of promise that was going to last a lifetime. Louis already knew that he had found the man he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. And if it all went to hell in the future, then so be it. He could never regret loving Harry Styles.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope it was to your liking, and I did the prompt at least a little bit of justice! Sorry if the ending is rushed. A huge thanks to my beta oopsandhiforever on tumblr! Thank you to everone who leaves kudos, comments, or bookmarks as well! :)


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